Hi-Def NES Review

I stopped by my Post Office today to pick up my package. I was already annoyed with the USPS so I just wanted to get in and out of there quick, and luckily I did.

The packaging of my NES was the best I’ve ever seen from a modder. The NES itself was individually wrapped in bubblewrap and secured with clear tape. It was then wrapped some more with this brown tethered paper bag material; I’m not to familiar with it, but it provided a bit more cushion. He also sent back my 72 Pin adaptor which he also put in its own little pink baggy.

Upon first inspection, I was floored by the professional work done on the machine. The cutout required at the back of the machine for the HDMI port looks like it was meant to be there by Nintendo themselves. If you didn’t know any better, you would have believed it was stock. This is my original system from the 80’s, and though the case itself has a few blemishes on it, it’s still in great physical condition.

I also purchased the Blinking Light Win and sent it along to be installed, which he also did for me. No longer do you have to press down when inserting a game and bending pins; it’s a straight-on cartridge slot now, much like the N64 or SNES.

I also had done some expansion audio mods on this system, and the job I did on it was, to my standards and with limited resources, decent enough. He also took it upon himself to rewire what I had done and professionally wire it up. He also sent me pictures of the work he had done on the inside of the system.

When I first turned it on, it wasn’t powering up. The power light would show for a split second then turn off. I tried a different outlet and still the same problem. I think I knew what the problem was. At the time, I was using a third party power supply that has two leads coming out of it to power an NES or an SNES. It probably requires the original NES power supply. Well, thank goodness I’m always prepared and had it in my storage bin! Once I hooked it up and powered it on, we were in business!

I loaded up my PowerPak and decided to try Super Mario Bros. 2 first. I was blown away by the picture quality, and I had not even toggled through the settings yet. I had to play the game though. Right away, I can tell you, the input lag from the controller to the TV was non-existent. I couldn’t believe it. Over HDMI. One of the worst things about the Wii U Virtual Console is the input lag. It’s awful. That and the super dark picture quality. To really test out the input delay, I tried Mega Man 2. Flash Man was easily defeated!

After trying a few more games, I started to mess around with the menu features of the mod. There are so many customization options. One of my favorites is the audio options. You are able to individually pan each audio channel of the system, including all of the expanded audio channels, as well as manipulate the volume. It also has a waveform viewer, pitch viewer and memory address viewer. After seeing this prompted me to contact the creator about a possible addition to the audio viewer. I’ll see about doing that this weekend. I still have a lot more to do with the system, but once the weekend is here, I can really start to become more familiar with every aspect of the mod.

I highly recommend anyone who loves their NES and desire to include it with modern gaming/TV setups AND get the best possible audio and video signals from the machine. It is NOT an upscaler. The good news is you can still use your composite connection to play your light gun and ROB games, which was important for me to have as a feature since I still do enjoy to play those games from time to time.

If you would like more information about this particular product, visit this link: https://www.game-tech.us/mods/original-nes/

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About TomBob

TomBobBlender is an internet personality created on March 24th, 2006 through the creation of his YouTube channel where he garnered attention from his Mario Paint videos. His videos were featured in Nintendo Power magazine, a dream he's always wanted since a child in the 90s. In 2008, he founded The TomBobBlender Show where he pioneered the concept of live streaming video games in a unique TV show format. He finds it to be the best way to connect with his audience. Although he currently resides in the Silicon Valley of California, he grew up and received his Music Education degrees in New York. He is a frequent attendee to local gaming and anime conventions as well as an avid cosplayer. He hopes you enjoy his blog!